Bottom Line:
Proof that a great sport sedan is more than just a great chassis.

There's little point in building a sport sedan to compete against the BMW 3 Series if the car isn't capable of measuring up to the German car's handling standards. The Cadillac has the hardware to do so, as it features a MacPherson strut front suspension and a five-link rear suspension. GM's magnetorheological dampers are also part of the package when the car is fitted with the FE3 suspension package like this test car, and there are two damping modes: Sport and Tour.

With our test car, we found the Tour damping setting to be adequate in nearly every situation, even hard driving on imperfect roads. Sport mode is tuned for surfaces so smooth that they must exist only in the dreams of enthusiasts (or perhaps freshly paved racetracks). You'll be punished with ride harshness when you select Sport mode on most roads, and we found that the Tour setting provides adequate body control without the awfulness. The ATS's best slalom speed of 69.1 mph — better than the speed set by the 328i — was achieved in Tour, which also delivered better stability during rapid transitions.

According to Edmunds this was a full test of the ATS, but it sounded more like a comparison. I hate when manufacturers do this especially when the car they are comparing it to is not there and they are just pulling information from their database. If you're going to do a full test on a car do it and tell us how it does on its own right then and there. If you are going to compare cars make sure both are there at the same time, otherwise there are too many variables like driver, weather, altitude, roads, tracks, etc... to be able to make a fair and honest comparison.

the voice commands on the cue system make knobs unneeded for the most part. looks like a good car and a seriously strong entry from anything american. should be interesting to see how it drives.

I still don't think this is an excuse for a non-intuitive interface.The MyFord Touch people say the same thing. Some of us don't like using voice commands, especially if there's other people in the car having a conversation.

Originally Posted by Doug Butabi

And on the tenth day of the two thousand fifteenth year, TCL finds out about rich people.

I still don't think this is an excuse for a non-intuitive interface.The MyFord Touch people say the same thing. Some of us don't like using voice commands, especially if there's other people in the car having a conversation.

Having the Sync package in my Focus, I agree. Even though there is voice command, it never works 100% of the time. You need knobs and such for any system like this because it will never work perfectly for everybody. I feel bad for the people with the MyTouch system. It really is crap.

I like this car though. Looking like it could be a good move from Cadillac. My question though is what the buyers will think. Could this be the next Cimarron?

Besides navigation stuff, the only thing I change multiple times in typical driving is the volume/radio station, which is on the right hand side of the wheel and cruise control when I'm on the highway, which is on the left. Maybe I'll adjust the climate control when I first get in, but usually that's a set and forget sort of situation.

If the cue system has good enough voice recognition, you probably don't need to physically interact with the touch screen or center stack all that much.

In The Wall Street Journal, Dan Neil reviewed the ATS 3.6. He gave it a largely glowing review, but at the end bitched about how loud the 3.6 is and its lack of refined sound. He said the sound was so awful that it was a "black hole" that basically ruins the entire car. I've been in and around CTSes with this engine, and have never been bothered by it's sound. One just drove past me at lunch and sounded fine. Anyone here ever been bothered by the sound of it, or is this Ole' Dan making a GM-hating mountain out of a mole hill?

So the ATS is a little more venturesome in design than the BMW 3-series and, surprisingly, a little more fun to helm. Does that make it a better car? Well, no.

The ATS's major flaw—and it's practically a black hole that devours the rest of the car—is the 3.6-liter's low-speed, low-rpm powertrain noise. Wow. That sounds terrible! The injectors rattle like a sewing machine that's lost a cog. As soon as you pick up the throttle and the revs rise above around four grand, the induction, valve-train and exhaust notes come together in a rising, melodic chirr, and at full throttle, shuffling up through the gears, the powertrain sounds amazing (0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds). But in a parking lot, it sounds like my old Chevette. Ai.

So, not perfect, but again, compelling, daring and, here and there, outrageous. I like those words better than the musty old "Standard of the World" anyway. Cadillac is not the standard anymore. It's the challenger. And the ATS is, well, challenging.

Nice car, but it won't be the benchmark of the segment. Not the best transmission, not the best engine, not the best economy and by far not the best price.

Most reviewers have placed the ATS as being slightly better than or on par with the 3-Series. That's pretty darned close for Caddy's first real attempt! They certainly have done better than Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes, Acura, or Audi have done with several generations of development. In this case, being a disputed number 2 is far better than not even being on medal podium.

Most review have done exactly what Inside Line is doing which is test the car alone then compare it to cars they have tested on other instances which is to say it's not really a comparison at all. There hasn't been any back to back comparison with any of those cars you mentioned. What's more they are all aging designs with new, improved models just around the corner.